Armand Duplantis Channeled Viral Turkish Shooter After Record-Breaking Pole Vault

"Mondo" hit a celebration mimicking Yusuf Dikec's viral pose.

Armand Duplantis won his second straight Olympic gold medal in the pole vault on Monday, and did so by breaking his own world record. He also broke out the best celebratory pose of the 2024 Olympics so far by mimicking Turkish shooter and viral sensation Yusuf Dikec.

Duplantis began the night in a back-and-forth battle with U.S. pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, but left the American behind by clearing the six-meter mark. With the gold secured, Duplantis wanted to set the Olympic record, so he set the bar at 6.10 meters and cleared it on the first attempt. After doing so, he broke out a pose that has become familiar over the past week.

An absolutely perfect homage.

Even Team Turkey celebrated the homage.

Dikec went viral last week after he showed up to the 10 meter air pistol mixed team event looking as relaxed as possible. Then he went out and won a silver medal with teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan.

If that wasn't enough, Duplantis closed the night by breaking his own world record, vaulting over the bar set at 6.25 meters and sending the crowd at the Stade de France into a frenzy.

What a night for the 24-year-old Swedish star.


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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.